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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Legend of the Bob Summer

Much of my family history is rooted in the adventures my parents had before they met. For various reasons, my father, Bob, kept returning to Norway.

One such trip was in the summer of 1975. Dad had a little British car that was made for driving on the other side of the road. I can attest to just how unnerving it would be as it took me days to adjust to driving on the other side of the road, when I was in the right sort of car.

With car, dad took off to a small lake and proceeded to help rebuild a dilapidated hyutt (hut, a Norwegian summer house). The hyutt was made in 1923 and ready for some care. It was a little out of town, a fair day trip to get to by foot or bike.

The Sun shone a lot that summer. There were lakeside parties, picnics and feasts. With a set of wheels, it also meant that if there was a party anywhere in the vicinity, Dad and his friends were there.

As my sister and I traveled through Norway with Dad we were able to meet many of these friends. We heard that tales of the summer my Dad spent by the lake. A summer that the sun shone brighter and the parties were bigger. It has gone down in history as "The Bob Summer".